The 24-year-old subway passenger who was seen on video choking a homeless man on a New York City train is expected to be charged with the incident on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Daniel J. Penny, a Navy veteran, was taken into custody after the May 1 incident but released. It is unclear what charges he will face.
Cell phone video captured on a northbound F train showed Penny on the ground holding Jordan Neely in a chokehold after an altercation.
Penny’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon, but previously said Neely had been «aggressively threatening» his client and other subway riders and that Penny acted to protect himself and others. .
Neely, a 30-year-old subway busker who performed dance routines dressed as Michael Jackson, was unconscious when officers arrived at the Broadway and East Houston Street station. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Neely died from «neck compression (strangulation)» and that the manner was a homicide.
Neely’s family rejected the Navy veteran’s account. «This is an assassination of character and a clear example of why he believed he had the right to take Jordan’s life,» said attorneys for the family, Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards.
Juan Alberto Vázquez, who was on the subway, said NBC New York that Neely was being aggressive before being restrained.
“The man got on the subway car and began to make a somewhat aggressive speech, saying that he was hungry, that he was thirsty, that he didn’t care about anything, that he didn’t care about going to jail, that he didn’t care that he received a big chain. life,» Vázquez told the Spanish-language station. «That it doesn’t even matter if I died.»
Neely was strangled for about 15 minutes, according to Vázquez, who filmed the video. The footage showed two other subway riders who appeared to help restrain Neely.
The NYPD previously said officers responded to the subway station after receiving a 911 call about a physical fight. An investigation revealed that Neely and Penny they had a verbal dispute that «developed into a physical altercation,» a spokesman said.
Nely’s death sparked a public outcry and protests in the city.
“His death at the hands of a fellow traveler and the responses to this violence that took his life have been not only tragic but difficult to swallow,” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said last week. “The racism that continues to permeate our society allows for a level of dehumanization that denies Black people recognition as victims when subjected to acts of violence.”
“Perceptions of Black people have long been interpreted through a distorted and racialized lens that purports to justify violence against us. It is another example of how far we are from an equitable and just society,» Adams continued.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters that the video was «horrific» and that the response from subway passengers to Neely was «very extreme.»